Second Chances
by Riniko22
Summary: A darker ending for Phoenix mountain followed by a lighter beginning. I wrote this dabble between studying for my midterms to relax my mind somewhat. It looks into answering some questions about Nodoka, while exploring what may change by one difference.
1. Chapter 1

Author: Riniko22

Notes: The Characters and Places within this story are not mine, and remain the property of their respected owners. As such, I do not own them, nor am I making any money off them. So sad, honored reader, this very tragic tale of penniless author that fell into the spring of drowned …

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Ranma could tell he would be too late to interrupt and stop Saffron's attack from going off and worse yet he could see that Saffron knew it too. That self-satisfied, I am superior to you smirk was making him sick. The problem was that he seemed to be right; Ranma was beginning to worry that this time he would not come out on top. However, that was not going to stop him from trying, even if he had to die trying at least the ass would remember him.

Ranma died at Phoenix Mountain trying to save his friends and family from Saffron's final attack. While he failed to stop him in time, he did succeed in killing Saffron and destroying his egg when he found out what Saffron's attack had done. With Saffron truly dead, the Phoenix energy needed to go somewhere and the closest and strongest host was the dying Ranma. However, with Ranma refusing to live in a world where everyone he loved was dead and wishing that he could do it all over the nearly sentient Phoenix energy was forced to save him a different way.

Ranma found himself suffering though waves blinding pain, so much pain that he truly wished that he would just die, just to end the agony. Then when he thought that, it could not get any worse, his world started to spin. The spinning began to accelerate becoming faster and faster, until he could feel the farthest edge of his body beginning to pull tighter and tighter. It was at this point that he began to scream again, he screamed until his vocal cords ruptured and still he pushed air past them, the pain still rising in intensity. Then everything went to merciful black.

When he started to come to again he could hear people speaking in the background. "It's a boy!"

"Oh, thank god it survived," a woman's voice said, "I didn't want to be the one to tell the mother that both of her babies had died. I don't believed that she could have lived through that. After the way she talked, how happy she was, to hear that she was going to be a mother and to twins, no less."

"It was a miracle she said, everyone had told her that she was barren after all the treatments she had gone through to save her life after the accident. Now this, at least one of the two survived. I'm just sorry that her daughter did not make it too," a second voice said.

However, with that last word, Ranma concentration gave out, over come by the terrible tiredness that wrapped his body, he drifted into unconsciousness to late to hear the sounds of shocked surprise from the medical staff around him.

"What was that sound?"

"I don't know. Wait, oh my god! It's a live. Doctor, she's alive."

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This was an idea that hit me and I felt that I had to get out. I don't know when I will be able to continue it as classes are hitting me pretty hard right now. Nevertheless, I will continue to work on my other stories as time permits. If anyone else has ideas on this or has a great interest in continuing this before I can get back to it let me know. Maybe someone else can give it the life it needs or help me to further it. Thanks again for your support.


	2. Chapter 2

Author: Riniko22

Notes: The Characters and Places within this story are not mine, and remain the property of their respected owners. As such, I do not own them, nor am I making any money off them. So sad, honored reader, this very tragic tale of penniless author that fell into the spring of drowned …

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Chapter 2

Ranma felt so comforted, it was a strange feeling to him, and he could not remember the last time that he had felt anything close to this feeling. A comforting warmth seemed to radiate out to him, and it seemed as if giant arms were holding him in his slumber as he listened to a rhythmic drum beat. After a time he could feel his body slowly start to turn within this dream world as a gentle touch of velvety smooth warmth seemed to stroke across his cheek, he turned his head instinctively towards this touch. As his head moved, his lips parted slightly as if seeking the source of the contact without any direction, finding what they seemed to know was there they closed down and greedily began to pull it inward. In this dream, he began to suckle the ambrosia that was drawn forth until the flow eventually ebbed. His mouth opening again with his satisfied burp, the surreal dream began to fade into the darkness of relaxed slumber.

Looking down in silent wonder as her precious daughter briefly stirred into semi-wakefulness in her arms, Nodoka presented her bare breast to her for the first time. Her baby had spent the first few days of her life in the intensive care wing of the hospital's maternity ward. The doctors had tried to tell her that her first-born child may not survive, but she could tell that her beautiful Ranko was a fighter. And, she proved it to the doctors over the next few days as she steadily improved until they brought her to her earlier that very day to hold. After feeling her little one tummy rumble, she brought her towards her breast in the same way that she had with her little warrior Ranma. With no more than a touch against her cheek, Ranko latched into her with a fierceness that left her stunned into silence during the entire feeding, before draining her dry and sweetly burping as she fell into a restful slumber.

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Hello, everyone! I am still here, I have just been sick for the last few weeks. I thought that the time between my classes would be spent reading, resting and enjoying my time off. What a mistake on my part. But, I am starting to feel better and wanted to write something quick. I will be continuing my other stories soon, so look forward to more soon.


	3. Chapter 3

Author: Riniko22

Notes: The Characters and Places within this story are not mine, and remain the property of their respected owners. As such, I do not own them, nor am I making any money off them. So sad, honored reader, this very tragic tale of penniless author that fell into the spring of drowned …

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Chapter 3

After what felt like the longest most restful sleep that Ranma had ever had he began to slow drift towards wakefulness. He was sure that he had been dying after killing Saffron, had it all been a dream or had he somehow survived and been taken to a hospital. The last thing he vaguely remembered was hearing someone, maybe a doctor, telling someone that that someone's newborn daughter had died. He must have been in a nearby room when he passed out again from the pain and exhaustion, if anyone had had to die why did it have to be some poor woman's baby, why did he survive when all he had wanted was to die with his friends and family.

With these thoughts in his head, Ranma began to dredge himself up slowly from the depths of his slumber. He started by making a mental review of what his body was telling him. He felt weak; it was taking a lot of effort to get his arms and legs to move against the blanket that they seemed to have him wrapped up in. This in itself was strange to him; he expected to be in a lot more pain and could not feel any breaks or major wounds to his body. He could tell that he was in a bed that was obvious, and that he was tightly wrapped, probably to keep him from rolling out. He could also tell that he was in his girl form and only wearing what felt like very thick underwear. Was he wearing a diaper? This got him to thinking, just how long have I been unconscious, have I been laying here for months or maybe years. That would explain his weakness and lack of muscle control he thought. Fearful for the first time in his life, not that he would die, but that he would live out the rest of his life as an invalid he opened his eyes and tried to speak. Oddly or not so oddly with all the other problems he had it seemed like his vision was unfocused and he could only seem to get out an unintelligible garble of sounds.

Hearing movement and the soft sounds of a baby babbling behind her, Nurse Anko turned toward the newest member of her ward. "Well, it seems like someone is finally waking up again Mrs. Saotome? I bet she is hungry again, just like her little brother. Do you think you can handle both of them at the same time or do you want me to get her a bottle?"

"No, that won't be necessary Anko-san; I can take them both at the same time. Just bring Ranko over here while I move Ranma a little and get ready." Ranma heard a slightly familiar voice say, just before a huge shape came into his line of sight reaching towards him. Shocked into silence from all the weirdness, Ranma could only watch as he, or rather she was carefully lifted up and carried a short distance before she was laid down with her cheek against a strangely familiar feeling and smelling fleshly form. Afraid of what she would see, Ranma turned her head towards the sound and being that she could feel, just as her head fully turned her mouth opened fully in shock as she was moved into direct contact with what could not be, a giant breast.

"My, little Ranko is an eager little girl today Mrs. Saotome. I have never seen any baby open up so wide before in my entire professional career," was the last thing Ranma heard before her mind shut down and her body went into automatic.

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Somehow, I think Ranma will be out of it for a little bit. However, do not worry she will be coming back soon and starting to put the pieces together, it will just be a question as to what she makes of them.

Still having trouble thinking clearly with my head all stuffed full of cotton, the medicine helps, but I want this cold to go away soon. Hope to be able to work on my other work then, when I can think without blowing my brains out in a massive sneeze.


	4. Chapter 4

Author: Riniko22

Notes: The Characters and Places within this story are not mine, and remain the property of their respected owners. As such, I do not own them, nor am I making any money off them. So sad, honored reader, this very tragic tale of penniless author that fell into the spring of drowned … penniless author, oh the cruel irony.

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Chapter 4

Ranma seemed to drift for a time, going through what were the most disturbing and lucid dreams that she had ever had. Sure, they seemed normal enough if you were an infant girl, but Ranma was a grown man. Well technically, he was both a grown man and woman, but he saw himself as a man, and real men do not have dreams where they find themselves as a baby girl. If his mother even thought he was having dreams like this, him and his Pop would both be meeting his ancestors before the day was out, and not in the washing the family gravestone during Bon kind of way. She just wished that she could wake-up, have breakfast, and hell she would even be glad to go to school. This was just boring and frankly disturbing at times, she sure hoped that she would not be remembering any of this when she woke-up, if she did she would never be able to look at her mother again.

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Nodoka was frantic, where had Ranko got off to this time. She could almost swear her daughter was trying to hide from her. However, that could not be true, because every time she found the girl, she would do every thing she asked her to do. It was the oddest thing, little Ranko could be the sweetest girl any mother could ever want to have and then she would catch her with her younger brother Ranma, being the toughest tomboy ever. It was almost as if the girl was living two lives.

"Ranko-chan, where are you? We have to get you and your brother ready, or we will be late to the temple," Nodoka yelled out. Getting no answer, she moved on to her secret weapon with the two siblings, for if you found Ranma, you found Ranko watching over the boy. "Ranma, where are you hiring? If we don't leave soon, we won't have time afterwards to get ice-cream on the way back."

Almost instantly, Nodoka could feel a breeze off the displaced air as her children almost appeared out of thin air in front of her. She knew that both of them had been practicing the Art again from the blush of their faces. Nevertheless, they were still clean enough that it did not take more than a few more minutes to get the two out of their house clothes. The challenge would be keeping them still enough to get Ranko and Ranma into their kimonos. It would not take long to get Ranma ready, but Ranko's kimono was much more traditional, being the same one, she herself had worn when her mother had taken her to the Shichi-Go-San festival (1) when she was three. She still remembered how heavy and hot the one she had worn when she was seven had been. So, she would need to remind them that if they behaved they would stopping on the way home for a special treat.

"Now, I want the two of you to be extra careful today and not get into any trouble. Do I make myself clear?" Nodoka said, while looking at her daughter, know that by making this a request that Ranko would keep Ranma in line, until they got home and could change back again.

Almost as if they had practiced just for this moment, the two twins spoke at the same time saying, "Yes, mother!" Both Ranko and Ranma looked up at her with those cute little faces that said that as long as they received their bribe at the end they would do what she wanted without complaint, well not too much at least.

Pulling out her camera Nodoka snapped a few pictures of her special angels. She just wished that her husband had not disappeared earlier, so that they could have had a family photo taken while they were out. As she, lead her children towards the shrine that she was taking them to she began to think. She was beginning to wonder what she had seen in him that had her to agree to marry him; it was as if the man had changed as soon as they had the children. It almost seemed as if that was the whole reason that he had approached her father about marring her to begin with.

Now, Genma would disappear with Soun, leaving her and Kimiko, Soun's wife, alone to watch their children until they got back from where ever Genma dragged the two off to. The only time the children got to see Genma was when he would take little Ranma out back to train in the little training area they had, saying that it was time that the boy began to learn the Saotome branch of Any Thing Goes. Leaving little Ranko with her saying that it was too rough for a girl, but Ranko would still go sneak off and watch and practice with her little brother when Genma was not around. As much as Nodoka loved to be with her little girl, she could tell that Ranko seemed to love the Art. So, she had planned to ask her friend Kimiko for ways that she could share that experience with her own daughter. She knew that Kimiko still practiced and both Soun and she trained their own children. She was sure that Kimiko would be able to help her with this and it would give her daughter a chance to spend more time with Akane, another young girl Ranko's age. It was as Nodoka finished with that thought that they reached the shrine where she was meeting Kimiko and her daughters.

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Author's Notes:

I am having Nodoka trying to be a little less traditional here in my story. I believe that part of her problem in cannon was that she did not have anyone to focus on when Genma took Ranma with him and that lead to her becoming more obsessed. I don't really know if her and Soun's wife knew each other very well, but it seems reasonable to assume that that did and with both having children it would help having someone that you knew to watch them needed to be out or to share experiences with.

Shichi-Go-San festival – a coming of age festival in Japan, girls celebrate it during their 3rd and 7th year of age and boys celebrate it during their 3rd and 5th year of age. And while the kimokos that the young girls wear are beautiful, they get hot and heavy after awhile.

I will be posting a new chapter on "Reflections" soon, I sent it to a proofreader a few days ago. I should probably do that with every story I write, but I have not done that with this story. I guess that I just have a hard time waiting and not putting something up when I get bored. My next story after that will likely be a new chapter for "Hitotsu ni suru", my Ranma/Naruto story.


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